A few months ago, I had the pleasure of playing Darksiders at the New York Comic Con. The game got my attention due to the Joe Madureira art. When I apprached the booth, I was surprised that not too many people were playing. My first response was “ahh– it probably isn’t that good”. When I finally played it, I was proven wrong immediately and was hooked. I particularly enjoyed the design and the huge battles with multiple attackers. After meeting Joe Madureira at the booth, I asked who could I contact to discuss this game on the show. I was immediately referred to THQ which gladly let me interview Haydn Dalton & Han Randhawa to promote this game.
I have included the interview below for those that missed it. Click play to check it out:
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After playing and completing the game, I will say that to me it was a fun and engaing thrill ride. I am not going to do a typical review where I focus on individual aspects because it really doesn’t do this game justice and I personally prefer a review on the overall product. The synopsis is pretty straightforward. The main character War , the second of the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, is falsely accused of starting the Apocolypse and is sentenced to death by the Charred Council, a third group that oversees the battle between Heaven & Hell. War suggests going forth to clear his name and if he dies, the sentenced can get carried out. The Charred Council agrees and they send him back to a post-apocalyptic Earth with a Watcher (voiced by the great Mark Hamill), who accompanies War with the intent of keeping him on a short leash. I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone that hasn’t played, so I’ll leave it at that. But I will share some gameplay footage:
War begins his quest with the Chaoseater Sword and thorughout the game receives new weapons and upgrades as he fights the tower guardians. By the middle of the game, War is no longer alone, as he is later accompanied by his trusty steed Ruin who proves quite useful in the coming battles.
Many reviewers compared this game to God Of War immediately, but while that is true, I think the puzzle-solving aspects og the game as well as the overall presentation differentiate it quite a bit and move it more towards a grown-up Legend Of Zelda. Darksiders thrives on HD displays with it’s vibrant colors and fantastic sound and should be played as such to fully enjoy it.
If you are a fan of hack & slash adventure games I recommend that you pick this game up and give it a shot. I am sure you’ll enjoy it. After selling over one million copies, which outsold it’s release competitor Bayonetta(which I am now playing ), and based on the ending, I can guarantee you will be seeing a lot more of War in the near future.
Great job Vigil & THQ
Recommendation : Buy
